[00:00:03] GET JUSTICE? YES. YES. THANK YOU. SO WE ARE GOING TO BE STARTING THE HUMAN RESOURCES [Roll Call: Chair Binder, Santos, Affa] ADMINISTRATION AND APPOINTMENTS COMMITTEE MEETING FOR PRESENT. OUR COUNCIL PRESIDENT NAPOLI AND MYSELF ON THIS COMMITTEE, I BELIEVE. COUNCIL PERSON WAS NOT AVAILABLE TODAY. RIGHT. SHE'S NOT HERE TODAY. OKAY. ALSO PRESENT IS COUNCIL PRESIDENT AND COUNCIL PERSON GERLACH. SO ON THE AGENDA AND COUNCIL PERSON SANTOS EVERYONE'S HERE. SO ON THE AGENDA TODAY ONE OF [15-8603 R103 Authorization of Cooperative Contract in an amount greater than $40,000.00 to provide the City with various goods/services, for CDW Inc ] THE THINGS FIRST WAS OUR 103. SO IF YOU DON'T MIND DO YOU MIND READING THAT IN OUR 103 IS THE AUTHORIZATION OF COOPERATIVE CONTRACT IN AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN $40,000 TO PROVIDE THE CITY WITH VARIOUS GOODS AND SERVICES FOR CDW INC. PERFECT. THANK YOU. SO THIS ONE WAS FLAGGED, I THINK, WHICH CAME OUT OF A MEETING AND SOME DISCUSSIONS WE HAD. SO I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND FOR THE PEOPLE PRESENT, IF YOU COULD ELABORATE ON WHAT THIS IS FOR, AND THEN MAYBE WE CAN HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF DISCUSSION ON IT OR HOWEVER YOU'D LIKE TO PRESENT. SURE. THANK YOU. SO THIS IS ADDITIONAL STORAGE THAT'S GOING TO BE HOUSED AT THE 1304 BUILDING, THE COMM CENTER, THE OLD COMM CENTER. SO THIS IS ACTUALLY THE THIRD PIECE THAT WILL GO IN THAT SITE. WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO PIECES OF STORAGE EQUIPMENT AT THAT SITE. ONE OF THEM IS A VERY LARGE UP TO 1.4PB STORAGE UNIT. THE OTHER UNIT IS A VERY OLD UNIT CALLED A DATA DOMAIN MANUFACTURED BY DELL MANY YEARS AGO. I THINK WE PURCHASED IT BACK IN 2016 OR 2017. SO IT'S AGED OUT. EVENTUALLY THIS UNIT WILL REPLACE THAT DATA DOMAIN. AND I WHAT I MEAN BY EVENTUALLY IS ONCE THE BACKUPS COORDINATE. SO WE WANT TO GET THE NEW UNIT IN PLACE, RUN ABOUT SIX MONTHS WORTH OF BACKUP ONTO IT. AND THEN WE'LL START TO RETIRE THE OLD UNIT. SO EVENTUALLY IT'S GOING TO TAKE OVER THAT DATA DOMAIN, WHICH IS END OF LIFE. THAT'S THE INTENTION FOR THIS UNIT. IT'S NOT. SO THIS UNIT IS 200TB OF STORAGE. THE DATA DOMAIN IS LIKE 156. SO WE'RE GAINING A LITTLE BIT OF STORAGE. BUT WE'RE NOT LOOKING TO EXPONENTIALLY CREATE ADDITIONAL STORAGE. AND IS THIS IS THE DATA DOMAIN IS THE THE DELL STORAGE APPLIANCE. IT'S ALSO AT 1304 OR IS IT ANOTHER LOCATION. SO IT'S AT 1304. OKAY. YEAH. AND THEN WITH RESPECT TO THE STORAGE. SO WHAT IS THE OTHER PURPOSE OF THAT STORAGE? LIKE WHAT IS THE STORAGE DOING AT 1304? WELL, THE EXTRA 200TB THAT THIS WOULD BE. OH. SO THIS WILL TAKE OVER STORING OF THE OPERATING SYSTEMS ON ALL OF OUR SERVERS. SO THIS IS THE OFF SITE STORAGE OF ALL THE OPERATING SYSTEMS OF OUR SERVERS. WE HAVE ABOUT 180 VIRTUAL SERVERS. SO WE STORE BACKUPS OF EVERY SERVER. BEYOND THAT, WE HAVE TWO DEDICATED FILE SERVERS THAT ARE 120TB EACH. WE STORE INFORMATION FROM BOTH OF THOSE ON THAT UNIT. THAT'S THE INTENTION. AND WITH RESPECT TO THE STORAGE THAT'S AT THE EXISTING LOCATION YOU HAVE, ARE THOSE STORED THERE TOO RIGHT NOW? NO. SO THAT IS USED FOR DIFFERENT STORAGE. SO THAT'S USED FOR THINGS LIKE NON-MICROSOFT STUFF, DATABASES THAT ARE NOT OUT THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE MICROSOFT REALM. ALSO THE INTENTION AT SOME POINT, AND I THINK I MISSPOKE WHEN WE SPOKE EARLIER LAST MONTH, WE DO NOT STORE GENETEC DATA THERE. OKAY. THERE IS NO REPLICATION OF GENETEC DATA. AT 1304. THE INTENTION ONE DAY IS TO HAVE A SECOND COPY UP THERE, BUT IT'S CURRENTLY NOT BEING SYNCHRONIZED. OKAY. IT'S CURRENTLY. SO THAT'S WHY WE HAVE A 1.4PB UP THERE TO MATCH THE 1.4PB THAT'S AT THE PSP BUILDING. OKAY. SO LIKE FOR LIKE, SO YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW 1.4 STORAGE APPLIANCES AT BOTH LOCATIONS, CORRECT? OKAY. SO IF, IF HYPOTHETICALLY, WE WERE REDUCING DOWN TO ONE LOCATION, YOU COULD USE THE 1.4 THAT YOU HAVE FOR THIS 200TB, OBVIOUSLY. AND THEN AND THEN SOME, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE 1.4 AT 1304. I THOUGHT YOU JUST SAID YOU HAD YOU HAD THE SAME STORAGE ARRAY AT BOTH. WE DO. OKAY. SO THE, THE 1304 STORAGE ARRAY IS BASICALLY A REPLICA OF PSP BUILDING. YEAH. SO WHATEVER RESTORATIVE PSP GETS REPLICATED EVERY DAY UP TO 1304. AND THAT'S PRIMARILY VIDEO. NO, IT'S PRIMARILY FILE STORAGE. SERVER STORAGE VIDEO IS AT PSP ONLY. SO YOU'RE NOT REPLICATING VIDEO. WE'RE NOT REPLICATING VIDEO AT THIS TIME. OKAY. WE HAVE THE CAPACITY AT 1304 TO DO THAT. BUT WE DON'T HAVE THAT TURNED ON. OKAY. AND THEN WITH RESPECT TO FILE STORAGE, WE'RE PAYING A GOOD PORTION OF MONEY TO MICROSOFT TO HAVE EVERYTHING IN THE CLOUD. SO I'M JUST [00:05:03] TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHY ARE WE STORING SO MUCH LOCALLY HERE? IF SO, MICROSOFT ONLY KEEPS IN THE CLOUD FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME, AND WE HAVE THE NEED TO STORE THINGS SUCH AS FILES, EMAIL FOR LONGER PERIODS OF TIME. SO AT 1304. WE STORE LIKE GENERAL FILES FOR UP TO THREE YEARS, DEPENDING UPON DEPARTMENTAL NEEDS. WE STORE CONTRACTS, PAYROLL REQUISITIONS, THINGS LIKE THAT, FINANCIALS OR STORED UP TO SEVEN YEARS, DEPENDING UPON SPECIFICATIONS FROM THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT. AND THEN WE STORE THINGS LIKE COUNCIL MINUTES, YOU KNOW, ORDINANCES, THINGS LIKE THAT FOREVER. AND THERE'S ALSO THINGS FROM LIKE OUR ZONING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT THAT NEED TO BE KEPT FOREVER. SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT GO FROM HERE TO 1304 AND ARE KEPT IN MULTIPLE LAYERS. SO WE DON'T KEEP JUST ONE COPY. OKAY, WE KEEP MULTIPLE COPIES. AND THEN OF THE 1.4, HOW MUCH IS IT UTILIZED RIGHT NOW AT THE AT 1304 IT'S USED USING APPROXIMATELY 300TB BECAUSE WE'RE NOT STORING ANY GENETEC DATA OUT HERE. OVER HERE IN PSP, WE'RE USING ABOUT 85% OF THE CAPACITY BECAUSE WE ARE STORING GENETIC DATA HERE. SO THEN JUST FOR UNDERSTANDING AT THE 1.4 THAT'S THERE AT 1304 THAT YOU'RE ONLY USING. SORRY, I'M LIKE LOTS OF NUMBERS HERE OF 300TB OF DATA. YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE THE 200 YOU COULD UTILIZE THAT WITH COULD. SO THE INTENTION THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW, YOU KNOW, BACK IN 2018, WE GOT HIT WITH MALWARE. IN 2021, WE STARTED A CAPITAL PROJECT TO EXPAND THE 1304 SITE SO THAT WE WOULD CREATE A SECOND REPLICA OF WHAT'S HERE. SO IT'S TAKEN US A NUMBER OF YEARS TO GET WHERE WE ARE. THIS IS THE SECOND LAST PIECE THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO COMPLETE THAT REPLICA SO THAT IF SOMETHING WOULD HAPPEN TO THIS BUILDING, LET'S SAY WE HAVE A MAJOR OUTAGE OF SOME TIME AND IT'S GOING TO BE DOWN FOR, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, LET'S SAY SOMETHING FALLS ON THE BUILDING. AND, YOU KNOW, OUR OUR CENTER SITS IN THE TOP FLOOR AND IT GETS DAMAGED. WE WANTED 1304 TO BE UP AND AVAILABLE SO THAT CITY COULD CONTINUE TO WORK. SO WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE A REPLICA. WE'RE NOT THERE YET. LIKE I SAID, THIS IS THE SECOND LAST PIECE. WE NEED TO CREATE THAT. AND IT'S TAKEN A NUMBER OF YEARS BECAUSE OF BUDGET CONSTRAINTS. YEAH. CAN'T BUY $1 MILLION WORTH OF EQUIPMENT IN ONE YEAR. SO OKAY. AND THEN I GUESS OF THE, THE 2016 SYSTEM, IS THAT CURRENTLY STILL UNDER SUPPORT? I KNOW IT'S REALLY FAR OUT, BUT NO, IT'S END OF LIFE. SO THERE'S NO FIRMWARE UPGRADES GOING ON. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LIVING WITH IS THE, YOU KNOW, AT THIS POINT, IT'S A SECURITY RISK BECAUSE WE CAN'T UPGRADE THE FIRMWARE ANYMORE. SO SO WOULD IT BE CORRECT TO SAY, AND I'M ASKING THIS JUST BECAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF MOVING PIECES WITH POTENTIAL PROJECT OVER THERE, POTENTIAL CHANGING THINGS, WOULD IT, WOULD IT BE SAFE TO SAY, AND I SAY THIS KNOWING FULL WELL THAT STORAGE IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE THINGS, AND IT WILL PROBABLY BE EVEN MORE EXPENSIVE TOMORROW. BUT YOU GOT IT. IS IT IS IT SAFE TO SAY THAT RIGHT NOW? BECAUSE WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THAT BUILDING WITH SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT WE COULD STILL CONTINUE ON WITH UTILIZING THAT ONE POINT, A PORTION OF 200 USING THE 200TB IN THAT 1.4, THAT'S SITTING AT 1304 FOR RIGHT NOW WHILE WE KIND OF FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO THAT LOCATION, WE COULD THE INTENTION, LIKE I SAID, IS TO HAVE A REPLICA OF WHAT'S HERE. SO OVER HERE AT THE PSB BUILDING, WE DO HAVE TWO DEVICES. ONE IS 1.4, THE OTHER IS APPROXIMATELY 200TB. WE WANTED TO HAVE THOSE REPLICAS AT 1304, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE USING THE OLD DATA DOMAIN. AND THEN THAT THAT NEWER QNAP DEVICE. YEAH. AND I FULLY WE COULD UTILIZE PART OF THAT, YOU KNOW, 1.4PB FOR, YOU KNOW, THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. BUT IDEALLY, I MEAN, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WOULD LOVE US TO HAVE A SECOND REPLICA OF THEIR GENETIC DATA IN A SEPARATE SITE SO THAT IF SOMETHING DID HAPPEN TO THIS BUILDING, THEY HAD ACCESS TO THEIR THEIR INFORMATION. RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOT DOING THAT. SO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS IF WE UTILIZE THE EXTRA IF WE PUT THE 200TB ON THAT 1.4PB STORAGE APPLIANCE, THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO REPLICATE THE DATA BETWEEN THE TWO. THAT'S THE BIGGEST BARRIER IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. WE WOULD PROBABLY RUN INTO SOME RESTRICTIONS, MAYBE NOT BEING ABLE TO STORE IT FOR 60 DAYS AS THEY WOULD LIKE US TO. MAYBE WE WOULD HAVE TO CUT IT BACK TO 40 DAYS OR SOMETHING, SO THAT BECAUSE WE'RE USING ABOUT 85% OF THE CURRENT. SO I DON'T KNOW THAT WE WOULD HAVE EXACTLY 200TB AVAILABLE AT. AT 1.4. OKAY. I HAD THOUGHT IN THE MEETING YOU SAID WE WERE DOING 30 DAYS. YOU'RE SAYING WE'RE DOING 60 DAYS OF. YEAH, I WAS WRONG. WE'RE DOING 60 DAYS. SO THIS WAS DONE BACK WHEN ASSISTANT CHIEF LAKE WAS STILL HERE, WHICH IS GOING BACK, YOU KNOW, 6 OR 7 YEARS AGO. APPARENTLY, THEY WORKED OUT AN AGREEMENT TO STORE UP TO 60 DAYS. WE'VE WORKED UP TO THAT [00:10:01] OVER THE YEARS AS WE'VE INCREASED STORAGE. WE DIDN'T DO THAT, YOU KNOW, ON DAY ONE. OKAY. SO WE COULD CUT BACK ON THAT. YEAH. SO CURRENTLY THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THAT'S THEY'RE LOVING IT. OKAY. SO I THINK, AND THIS IS PART OF, YOU KNOW, A BROADER DISCUSSION THAT COUNCIL HAS BEEN WORKING ON IN TRYING TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A A POLICY DOCUMENT ON HOW WE'RE HANDLING DATA AND SURVEILLANCE AND A LOT OF THESE OTHER THINGS I WOULD SAY AT THIS TIME, IT FEELS LIKE THERE'S THOUGH I UNDERSTAND THIS IS COMING UP RIGHT NOW, IT FEELS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF UNKNOWNS AND SOME OF THESE THINGS IF LIKE, JUST SIMPLY JUST SIMPLY TAKING THOSE DAYS BACK DRAMATICALLY CHANGES HOW MUCH, YOU KNOW, STORAGE PROFILE, WHICH WOULD THEN STILL FIT EVEN WITH REDUNDANCY ON THIS. SO I GUESS, I MEAN, I THINK AT THIS POINT IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO LIKE, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH, WITH THIS AS A, IN A MORE BROADER PLAN OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE. SO OKAY. IT'S FAIR. AND ONE QUESTION I HAVE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN ANSWER IT OR IF THAT'S AN A PD QUESTION MUST THE 60 DAYS VERSUS 30 DAYS, IS THAT A MANDATE FROM LIKE A LIKE A FEDERAL REGULATION, A STATE REGULATION? LET ME LOOK, THEY THEY GAVE ME A LISTING OF YOU MENTIONED THAT THEY ARE APPRECIATIVE OF THE 60 DAYS, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S BECAUSE WE'RE FOLLOWING STATE OR FEDERAL LAWS OR THEY'RE JUST APPRECIATIVE. YEAH. SO, I MEAN, I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU. THIS CAME FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO ME, AND IT SIMPLY STATES AS DEPARTMENT POLICY, BODY AND CAMERA, BODY CAMERA AND CAR CAMERA VIDEO ARE HELD FOR TWO YEARS IN A MONTH. AND THEN WATCHGUARD IS WORKING ON, YOU KNOW, A DIFFERENT SYSTEM. BUT ON TOP OF THAT, FOR THE GENETEC SYSTEM, STREET CAMERAS, BUILDING CAMERAS, ETC. ARE STORED FOR 60 DAYS EXCEPT FOR INTERVIEW ROOMS, CELL BLOCKS, COMPLAINT DESK, TRAFFIC LOBBY, LAYBY THAT ARE KEPT FOR TWO YEARS AND ONE MONTH. SO ACCORDING TO THEIR POLICY IN THEIR DEPARTMENT, THAT'S WHAT THEY REQUESTED US TO BE ABLE TO DO. IT TOOK US A NUMBER OF YEARS TO GET THERE BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF STORAGE WE NEEDED. SO FOR THE GEN TECH PORTION, I MEAN, TO ME, IT'S MAYBE WE SHOULD DOUBLE CHECK WITH APD, BUT IF THEY DON'T NEED ACCESS TO IT FOR 30 DAYS, IT FEELS LIKE IT'S AT THAT POINT. DO THEY STILL NEED ON A 45TH DAY? YEAH. I MEAN, I WOULD JUST SAY THAT FOR A ABOUT TEN, WELL, TEN YEARS THEY HAD SEVEN DAYS. YEAH, THAT WAS THE REQUIREMENT. SO WE'VE WE'VE ECLIPSED THAT BY THEN SOME I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE STATE OR FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS ARE TODAY BY. BUT I WOULD SAY WE COULD CONFIRM ALL THIS WITH OFFICER DECKER, WHO RUNS THAT FOR THE DEPARTMENT RIGHT NOW. SO. OKAY. WELL, WE'LL LET ANYONE ELSE SPEAK, BUT I'LL MAKE A MOTION AT SOME POINT WHEN EVERYONE ELSE HAS A CHANCE TO. DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE DYESS? BECAUSE I JUST HAVE A QUESTION. YOU MENTIONED THIS IS PART OF A SEVERAL YEAR KIND OF PLAN. IS THIS THE LAST PHASE I KNOW YOU MENTIONED? SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A 1.4PB PLUS A 200 TERABYTE. AND IT SEEMS LIKE THEY WANT LIKE REPLICAS FOR BOTH UNITS AT 1304. AND THAT'S THE REASON FOR THIS ADDITIONAL UNIT IS THAT AGAIN, THE END OF THAT PROCESS, OR IS THERE ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS WE'RE LOOKING AT TO CONTINUE UPGRADING THROUGHOUT THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS? WELL, OUTSIDE OF LIKE STANDARD, LIKE UPGRADING IN THE IT WORLD IS CONSTANT, OF COURSE. YEAH. YES, THERE ARE, THERE ARE TWO PIECES WE NEED, WE NEED ANOTHER SERVER UP AT THE 1304 BUILDING TO BE ABLE TO HOUSE A BUNCH MORE VIRTUAL SERVERS. SO WE COULD HAVE REPLICAS OF LIVE VIRTUAL SERVERS AT THAT SITE. THAT WOULD BE THE LAST PIECE. THIS IS THE SECOND LAST PIECE. OKAY. YEAH, PHYSICAL. I WAS JUST CURIOUS, LIKE OVERALL LARGE CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE IT, YOU KNOW, AND LIKE, I GUESS WE COULD, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CALLING IT CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ALL THE IT INFRASTRUCTURE. THAT'S WHAT I WAS MORE CURIOUS ABOUT. I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THINGS THAT BECOME OUTDATED AFTER A YEAR AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, KEEP IT UPDATED. BUT YEAH, JUST THINKING LIKE LONG TERM PLANNING TO MAINTAIN THE CAPACITY OR WHATEVER PROJECTED CAPACITY WE NEED. SO YEAH. AND YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN IN THIS BUSINESS FOR A LONG TIME. I MEAN, 20 YEARS AGO, YOU COULD KEEP A COMPUTER FOR TEN YEARS AND YOU WOULDN'T NOTICE. YOU WOULD NOTICE VERY LITTLE DIFFERENCE. TODAY WE LOOK AT A 4 TO 5 YEAR TURNAROUND, IF THAT DEPENDING UPON WHAT THE NEEDS ARE. SO EVERYTHING IS COMING DOWN. AND RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, AS AS COUNCILMAN BINDER SAID, EVERYTHING'S GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE. I MEAN, THE LAPTOPS THAT WE BOUGHT BACK IN JANUARY, WE WERE BUYING FOR SOMEWHERE AROUND 1150 PER UNIT. AND WE NOW GOT A QUOTE AT ABOUT 1630 PER UNIT. SO A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE. AND ALL OF THAT'S JUST BECAUSE OF MEMORY AND STORAGE WITHIN THE UNITS. SUCH A SHORT SUPPLY. SO SAME DEVICE, JUST 500 BUCKS MORE. ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY COMMENT? OKAY. IT [00:15:09] SOUNDS LIKE WE HAVE SOME LINGERING QUESTIONS. YOU KNOW, I THINK APD MIGHT NEED TO BE INVOLVED IN A PORTION OF THIS CONVERSATION. SO I'M GOING TO MAKE A MOTION TO TABLE THIS, AND WE CAN REVISIT IT ONCE WE GET SOME MORE INFORMATION. HELP US MAKE A DECISION. I'LL SECOND THAT. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. AYE AYE. ALL RIGHT. SO WE'RE GOING TO MOVE NOW TO THE WEBSITE [Discussion: City Website] DISCUSSION, ONE THAT I'VE BEEN EXCITED TO HAVE FOR SOME TIME. SO I APPRECIATE YOU COMING IN AND AND SITTING IN FOR THIS. I KNOW THAT THERE'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE SOME THINGS THAT YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE ANSWERS TO IN THIS, DEPENDING ON HOW WE ARE ORGANIZATIONALLY. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I RAN ON WAS REALLY TRYING TO BRIDGE THE GAP OR MAKE ACCESS TO A LOT OF THESE SERVICES EASIER. I KNOW THAT THE CITY RECENTLY REDID THEIR WEBSITE. THIS WAS ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO, SO IT STARTED IN 2022, COMPLETED IN 2024. SO THE CURRENT WEBSITE WENT LIVE IN 2024. OKAY. SO YEAH, THE PORTION I SAW WAS ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS. OKAY. AND DO YOU HAVE A ROUGH IDEA OF WHAT THE TOTAL COST WAS FOR THAT? SURE. I THOUGHT YOU DID TOO. BUT ALL I DO, BUT THIS IS A PUBLIC MEETING. SO SO THE TOTAL WEBSITE, ALL THE COSTS FOR THE REDESIGN FROM THE START IN 2022 TO THE END IN 2024, WAS $237,905. OKAY. ANOTHER $5. ALL RIGHT. SO WITH RESPECT TO THE WEBSITE, WHEN IT COMES TO UPDATES, HOW IT'S MANAGED STRUCTURALLY, WHERE DOES THAT LIVE WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THAT? SO WE TRY TO HANDLE AS MUCH AS WE CAN INTERNALLY WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT. BUT THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE CAN'T DO SUCH LIKE WE, WE JUST, YOU KNOW, UPGRADED THE D AND N LEVEL. WE HAD THE VENDOR ASSIST US WITH THAT THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE. NOW, I CAN TELL YOU THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M DOING AND WE STARTED TO DO LAST YEAR ALREADY WAS TO LOOK FOR A NEW SUPPORT VENDOR. THE CURRENT VENDOR HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR PROBABLY 15 YEARS OR MORE. HE'S JUST NOT SERVING THE NEEDS OF THE CITY ANYMORE TO OUR SATISFACTION. SO WE STARTED TO LOOK AROUND NEW VENDORS. WE GOT SOME PRELIMINARY PRICING. WE'LL BE ABLE TO BRING OUR SUPPORT COSTS DOWN BY ABOUT A THIRD COMPARED TO WHAT WE'RE PAYING HIM AT THE CURRENT TIME. WHAT IS THAT NOW ABOUT? SO THE CURRENT I BELIEVE THE 2026 SPEND WAS ABOUT 33000 FOR SUPPORT. SO ALMOST THREE GRAND A MONTH. WE HAD QUOTES, AS YOU KNOW, AROUND $2,000 PER MONTH RANGE FOR SUPPORT, X NUMBER OF HOURS PER MONTH THAT WE COULD UTILIZE WITH THE VENDOR TO PROVIDE SERVICES, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE THE NORMAL DAY TO DAY BREAK FIX TYPE THING. AND THEN YOU'RE SAYING, SO FROM A RESPONSIBILITY SIDE, LIKE, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING FROM A MAINTENANCE, WHAT ABOUT THE ACTUAL DATA, THE CONTENT ON IT? SO WHAT WE, THE WAY WE HANDLE THAT IS WE TRY TO HAVE EVERY DEPARTMENT, SOMEWHAT A SPECIFIED PERSON IN EACH DEPARTMENT WHO WE TRAIN, HOW TO UPDATE THEIR PAGE ON THE WEBSITE, AND THEN THAT DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE TO KEEP THEIR INFORMATION UPDATED. OKAY. IS THERE A CENTRAL CLEARINGHOUSE TO THAT THAT SAYS, OKAY, THIS GETS APPROVED, THEY PUT THE DATA IN AND THEN IT GETS APPROVED BY ONE PERSON OR ONE DEPARTMENT. OR IS IT PRETTY MUCH GOES LIVE? THE SECOND THAT THEY ALL CHANGES AND ALL INFORMATION THAT ARE ON THE WEBSITE SHOULD GET CLEARED THROUGH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. OKAY. SO ARE THEY, I GUESS FUNCTIONALLY THROUGH THE BECAUSE IT'S THROUGH THE THROUGH THE CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THAT YOU USE? ARE YOU ARE THEY SUPPLYING THE DATA? AND THEN IT JUST AUTOMATICALLY AN EMAIL IS TRIGGERED AND THE PERSON SAYS, YEP, IT'S APPROVED FOR CONTENT OR IS THERE DOES SOMEONE HAVE TO EMAIL SOMEONE? I'M JUST SO I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN ANSWER THAT. I CAN ONLY GUESS THAT THE PROCESS IS THROUGH EMAIL, THAT THE DEPARTMENT EMAILS, YOU KNOW, UPSTAIRS TO THE TO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. AND THEY PUT THEIR STAMP OF APPROVAL ON THE WORDING THAT MIGHT BE THERE AND, OR, YOU KNOW, IF THEY WANTED TO POST PICTURES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT ON A WEBSITE, I WOULD IMAGINE THEY, THEY ARE GETTING APPROVAL ON THAT BEFORE PUTTING IT OUT THERE. AND I KNOW THIS MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT OUT OF NORM HERE, BUT SINCE SINCE GENESIS WAS IN THIS IN THIS ROLE PREVIOUSLY, WOULD IT BE OKAY TO ASK IF YOU COULD JUST LIKE KIND OF GO THROUGH WHAT WAS THE PROCESS WHEN YOU WERE DOING THIS IN AN APPROVAL OR LIKE, JUST SO I CAN UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT BETTER? YEAH, IT WAS TWOFOLD. SO I WOULD RECEIVE REQUESTS FROM DEPARTMENTS AND, YOU KNOW, I'D GO THROUGH THE INFORMATION, MAKE SURE IT WAS GREAT GRAMMATICALLY, AND GIVE THE APPROVAL FOR THEM TO PUT IT ON THEIR WEBSITE. BUT I ALSO, AS PART OF MY JOB AS COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, WOULD GO THROUGH THE WEBSITE, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WAS UPDATED. I WORKED REALLY CLOSELY WITH SPECIAL EVENTS, SO THERE WERE SOME THINGS THAT I COULD JUST UPDATE MYSELF. OTHER TIMES, IF I DIDN'T KNOW THE INFORMATION AND I SAW IT WAS OUTDATED, I WOULD REACH OUT TO THEM [00:20:01] PROACTIVELY AND SAY, HEY, CAN YOU UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE? OKAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO OFTENTIMES, I THINK ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT I'VE EXPERIENCED FROM PEOPLE COMING ACTUALLY HERE IN MEETINGS AND SAYING, I DIDN'T KNOW THIS MEETING WAS HAPPENING, THIS HAPPENS WITH SOME FREQUENCY, I THINK, TO PEOPLE ON THIS COUNCIL THAT HAVE TO INTERFACE WITH THE SYSTEM ALL THE TIME ARE LIKE, OKAY, I KNOW WHERE ALL THIS STUFF IS. BUT FOR THE GENERAL RESIDENT WHO DOESN'T SPEND THEIR TIME ON THE ALLENTOWN, PA WEBSITE EVERY DAY, YOU KNOW, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE CHALLENGING, I THINK. AND I WAS WONDERING, WOULD YOU MIND COULD YOU BRING THE PAGE UP SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE WEBSITE, MIGHT AS WELL LOOK AT THE WEBSITE. YEAH. I MEAN, ONE OF THE PURPOSES OF THE WEBSITE IS PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT. SO, YOU KNOW, IT SHOULD BE EASY FOR THE RESIDENTS. I MEAN, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE WEBSITES, NOT FOR US, THE WEBSITES FOR THE PUBLIC, AT LEAST THAT'S THE WAY I LOOK AT IT. SO COMING UP, IT'S DOWN RIGHT NOW. NO, I'M JUST KIDDING. ALL RIGHT. IT'S ALMOST THERE. ALL RIGHT. SO IF YOU SCROLL UP TO TODAY IN ALLENTOWN, SCROLL DOWN. SORRY. SO THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE. I THINK OF OF ACCESSIBILITY FOR DATA. WE'RE SITTING HERE RIGHT NOW IN A MEETING TO DISCUSS THIS WEBSITE. WE HAVE ANOTHER MEETING AFTER THIS. WE HAVE A FULL ON COUNCIL MEETING TONIGHT. AND TO THE RESIDENT TONIGHT WE HAVE WE HAVE STREET CLEANING. THIS IS THE STUFF I THINK, WHICH IS CHALLENGING BECAUSE FROM A TECH PERSPECTIVE, THIS ISN'T A HIGH BARRIER. AND I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND. SO I RESEARCHED GRANICUS A LITTLE BIT. THE COMPANY THAT THAT'S SUPPLIES THE CONTENT OR WORKS WITH THE CONTENT FOR THIS MEETING, THEY, THEY EXPOSE THEIR, THEIR API. I WENT INTO A LITTLE WORDPRESS SANDBOX, THREW THAT IN. AND YOU CAN WITHIN DID IT DURING A CONFERENCE CALL AND WE'LL PUBLISH IT. WE'LL SHOW. HERE'S THE LINK FOR THE VIDEO, THE AGENDA RIGHT THERE AUTOMATICALLY WITH NO, HOW DO WE MOVE STUFF LIKE THAT FORWARD TO HELP RESIDENTS NOT HAVE TO POKE AROUND FOR DATA? WHAT'S BLOCKING THAT? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE A GOOD ANSWER FOR YOU ON THAT. I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS THAT ARE BLOCKING IT. ONE. UNFORTUNATELY, WE WEREN'T VERY INVOLVED IN THE DESIGN OF THIS WEBSITE, SO WE HAVE VERY LITTLE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HOW IT WAS ACTUALLY BUILT IN THE BACKGROUND. AND THAT'S THE UNFORTUNATE PART ABOUT IT. SO WE'RE LEARNING AS MUCH AS WE CAN ABOUT IT. IS THIS THE IDEAL SITE? PROBABLY NOT. I MEAN, THERE'S THERE'S MANY SITES THAT PEOPLE WILL FIND BETTER. THERE'S SITES THAT PEOPLE FIND WORSE. SO I THINK IT COULD BE A WHOLE LOT BETTER IN THE CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT PORTION. I THINK THERE COULD BE, YOU KNOW, AN EASIER WAY FOR THE CITIZEN TO GET THE INFORMATION THEY'RE LOOKING FOR. YEAH. I MEAN, THE SEARCH FEATURE I FIND DOESN'T ALWAYS PULL UP ALL THE INFORMATION YOU SEARCH ON A TOPIC, BUT YOU DON'T MAYBE NOT GET ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED. SO I THINK THERE ARE SOME SHORTCOMINGS THERE THAT WE CAN EITHER IMPROVE UPON OR, YOU KNOW, AS WE DISCUSSED, YOU KNOW, PREVIOUSLY, MAYBE IT'S, YOU KNOW, TIME TO SAY, OKAY, LET'S START TO BUILD TOWARDS SOMETHING NEW. SO ONE OF THE THINGS I LOOKED AT SINCE OUR, SINCE WE HAD OUR MEETING FROM, FROM A WORDPRESS PERSPECTIVE, THE SYSTEM WE USE, ANYONE CAN LOOK IT UP IF THEY WANTED TO. EVEN LOOKING AT ENTERPRISE LEVEL, WORDPRESS HOSTING, WHICH WILL HANDLE THE UPDATES, WILL HANDLE A LOT OF THESE TASKS WAS STILL LESS THAN THE 33 K THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. YEAH. AND I GUESS WHAT I'M ASKING TO CONSIDER, ESPECIALLY AS WE'RE GETTING INTO BUDGET TIME AND THAT KIND OF THING IS IF WE, IF WE CAN CONSIDER SOME OF THESE, A LOT OF THEY COME A LOT OF TIMES THEY COME WITH CONSULTING SERVICES. THEY COME WITH THE ABILITY TO SAY, HEY, THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING TO DO. IF WE CAN LEVERAGE THAT, ESPECIALLY FOR LESS MONEY, THIS AND TAKE, TAKE WORK WORKLOAD OFF OF IT, THIS SEEMS LIKE A GOOD SCENARIO. AND IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S BEEN A TREND THAT MOST ORGANIZATIONS HAVE BEEN GOING TOWARDS. YEAH. SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT I STARTED TO LOOK AT IS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE HOSTING WITH SUPPORT SERVICES BUILT IN, LET'S CALL IT MAINTENANCE SERVICES BUILT INTO THE SITES. AND YEAH, WE CAN LOWER OUR OVERALL SPEND. AND WHEN YOU GET A COPY OF MY 2027 BUDGET, I'VE ALREADY REDUCED THAT NUMBER. SO I DON'T HAVE 33 BUILT IN FOR 2027. I HAVE A NUMBER BUILT IN AT ABOUT 24, WHERE WE THINK AT 24 OR BELOW, WE CAN GET A GOOD VENDOR THAT WILL ASSIST IN THAT REGARD, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY WHO DOES THE HOSTING [00:25:03] PART AND EVERYTHING, OR WHETHER WE FIND A SEPARATE VENDOR WHO'S GOING TO DO ALL THE SUPPORT MAINTENANCE, YOU KNOW, BUT WE CAN WE'RE GOING TO REDUCE THE SPEND IN 27 WITHOUT A DOUBT. OKAY. YEAH. AND THEN I THINK, AND I WILL TRY TO RUSH THROUGH THIS QUICK, I APOLOGIZE, I'M MONOPOLIZING THE ENTIRE TIME HERE. THE OTHER THING I WAS LOOKING AT, AND THIS WAS THIS WAS DURING SO JULY 1ST, WE HAD A COMPTROLLERS MEETING THAT GOT CANCELED. SO THERE WAS A PRESS RELEASE THAT WENT OUT THAT LANDED ON THE PAGE. I DON'T KNOW, IS THAT DOWN? YEAH, IT WAS IT WAS IN THAT SECTION RIGHT THERE AROUND THERE. OKAY. THAT WAS LIVING THERE. BOLD. IT WAS UP THERE DURING AUGUST 5TH, AUGUST 5TH. I DON'T KNOW IF, YOU KNOW, WE WERE WE WERE DOING A DATA CENTER AMENDMENTS. IT'S RATHER IMPORTANT MEETING LOTS OF PEOPLE. THE THING THAT THE RESIDENTS SAW WAS STALE DATA. AND THAT'S VERY FRUSTRATING WHEN IT COMES TO THE SYSTEMS. SO IT'S I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND OR AT LEAST ENCOURAGE WHOEVER'S IN THE RESPONSIBLE ROLE OF THIS. WE NEED TO KEEP IT RELEVANT. OTHERWISE PEOPLE DON'T LOOK AT IT BECAUSE THEY THINK IT'S IT'S NOT ACCURATE. I DON'T DISAGREE. I'M SURE YOU'LL FIND PLENTY OF STALE DATA ON THE SITE RIGHT NOW. NOW WE AS I SAID EARLIER, WE TRY TO PASS THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES OFF TO THE DEPARTMENTS TO KEEP THEIR INFORMATION UPDATED BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN THEIR DEPARTMENTS. SO WE LOOK AT IT AS WE KEEP THE SITE RUNNING, YOU KEEP YOUR DATA UPDATED. SO THERE THERE ARE SOME HOLES IN HOW WE'RE HANDLING ALL THIS CURRENTLY. TODAY, THERE'S NO SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR THAT RESPONSIBILITY. YEAH. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK IF WE ESTABLISH WHETHER THAT'S GOING TO BE I.T OR SOMEBODY IN A DEPARTMENT OR, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OR WHATEVER, THAT IS GOING TO BE THAT ONE, THAT SINGLE POINT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS CURRENT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE AT 8:00 IN THE MORNING WHEN THEY SHOW UP FOR WORK, THAT'S THE FIRST THING THEY DO IS REVIEW WHAT'S UP AND WHAT'S GOING ON TODAY AND WHAT'S GOING ON THIS WEEK. I THINK WE WOULD HAVE A BETTER RESULT ON OUR EXISTING WEBSITE. AND RIGHT NOW THAT'S A HOLE. I AGREE WITH YOU. YEAH. AND I THINK IF WE IF YOU GO TO THE HIGHER OFFICE, BUT I'M GOING TO BRING THIS ONE UP BECAUSE I HAVE TOLD THIS, IT'S NOT A PET PEEVE, BUT I'VE TOLD MULTIPLE PEOPLE ABOUT THIS AND IT, IT EVEN IN, EVEN IN MY ATTEMPT, MY MEAGER ATTEMPT TO TRY AND GET THIS EITHER CORRECTED OR, OR ADJUSTED. AND THOUGH I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME OF THE PEOPLE IN THE OFFICES THAT ARE IN THIS PAGE STILL IN THOSE OFFICES, IT'S ALMOST TWO YEARS OLD. LIKE OUR, OUR IF YOU GO DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, I MEAN, OUR, OUR SENATOR IS, OH, I'M SORRY. GO DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, A LITTLE FURTHER. OUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE IS NOT THERE. OUR YOU KNOW, OUR FEDERAL SENATORS ARE DIFFERENT. IT WHAT IS IT SAYING? YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? AND I THINK THAT'S THE SORT OF THING WHERE WHAT WHAT'S CONCERNING TO ME IS EVEN IN AN ATTEMPT TO TRY. AND I THINK IT WAS EITHER 4 OR 5 DIFFERENT TIMES I'VE SINCE TAKING OFFICE HAVE TRIED TO GET THIS UPDATED. AND IT'S STILL EVEN FOR THIS MEETING, THERE. WHO DID YOU CONTACT? I MEAN, WE EVEN I BROUGHT THIS UP WHEN WE WHEN WE MET SO. WELL, I MEAN, I CAN HAVE OUR DEPARTMENT LOOK AT IT. BUT ONCE AGAIN, THIS, THIS INFORMATION MAY HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE IN 2024 WHEN THIS WENT LIVE AND PROBABLY HASN'T BEEN LOOKED AT SINCE. YEAH. AND I GUESS THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET AT IS AND I'M NOT TRYING TO LIKE, I DON'T WANT TO BE COMING OFF AS LIKE A, YOU KNOW, TEARING PEOPLE DOWN IN THEIR ROLES AND THAT KIND OF THING. BUT IT, IT SPEAKS TO HOW WE'RE, WE'RE, IT SPEAKS TO WHERE IS THIS ON A PRIORITY LEVEL? AND IF IT'S, IF IT COMES TO RESIDENTS BEING ABLE TO TRY AND INTERFACE WITH US, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS WE HAVE AN E COMMENT SECTION, WHICH IS NEVER USED. AND IT'S, IT'S A SMALL EIGHT POINT FONT IN THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF YOU CAN'T EVEN, EVEN IF YOU GO TO LIKE IF YOU IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT ONE, WHICH IS THE MEETINGS AND EVENTS, I THINK IS THE OTHER LINK I HAD GIVEN YOU. SO SCROLLING DOWN HERE IN THIS SAME SECTION. SO LIKE WHEN I, WHEN WE HAD, WHEN THEY HAD THIS UP JULY AND AUGUST, THE ENTIRE SUMMER HAD NO EVENTS. AND OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE TONS OF EVENTS, TONS OF EVENTS GOING ON. I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT THERE'S SOME STUFF HERE IN SEPTEMBER THAT THAT'S ARRIVED. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO MEETING AT EVENTS, IF YOU'RE THE GENERAL PERSON WHO'S WHO'S A RESIDENT SAYS, HEY, I KNOW THERE'S SOME IMPORTANT MEETING THAT'S COMING UP. THERE'S LEGISLATION THEY'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT. LOGIC TELLS YOU TO GO TO MEETING AT EVENTS. WHERE ARE WE ON THE CALENDAR? THAT SHOWS WHERE E COMMON IS, WHERE SHOWS WHERE THE AGENDA IS, WHERE SHOWS LIKE IT'S IT'S DISJOINTED. AND THE CONCERN I HAVE IS THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IF WE MAKE IT EASIER, I MEAN, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR EVERYONE HERE ON THE DAIS, BUT LIKE GETTING SOMEONE WHO'S GOING TO CLICK ON THE COMMENT BUTTON AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK IS, IS GREAT. WE HAVE ALL OF THESE SYSTEMS IN HERE, BUT I DON'T [00:30:04] THINK ANYONE EVEN KNOWS HOW TO HOW TO GET TO IT. AND IF WE CAN MAKE IT MORE PROMINENT, I THINK IT GOES A REALLY LONG WAY. I WILL PAUSE FOR A SECOND. SINCE I'VE BEEN MONOPOLIZING THE MEETING, SO DOES ANYONE. I HAVE A COUPLE OTHER THINGS, BUT DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? I MEAN, I THINK AND THANKS FOR FOR BRINGING THIS TO THE FOREFRONT. YOU KNOW, WE IT SOUNDS LIKE WE NEED A BETTER PROCESS OR A MORE CLEAR PROCESS ABOUT EXACTLY WHO AND WHAT DEPARTMENT WHO IS IN IS TASKED WITH, YOU KNOW, KEEPING AN EYE ON THIS DAILY. I MEAN, BECAUSE A WEBSITE IS A LIVING THING. IT'S, IT'S ALWAYS, ALWAYS NEEDS TO BE UPDATED. IT CAN'T GET STALE. I DO AGREE WITH COUNCIL PERSON BINDER THAT WE NEED TO LEVERAGE APIS BECAUSE IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT TOOL TO POPULATE DATA ON A WEBSITE IN A VERY SEAMLESS FASHION. SO I THINK MAYBE SOME BACK END WORK THAT CREATES THOSE, THOSE PATHWAYS SO THAT DATA FROM GRANICUS CAN JUST APPEAR WITHOUT US EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT. WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, I, I'M GOING TO DEFEND DEPARTMENTS. I MEAN, I KNOW THEY'RE TASKED WITH GIVING YOU THE INFORMATION, BUT I MEAN, IN THEIR DAY, THERE'S PROBABLY A HUNDRED THINGS THEY HAVE TO DO. AND YES, THIS BECAME LESS OF A PRIORITY. IT'S EVIDENT. AND SO WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO GET, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S NOT WORKING THE WAY WE'RE DOING IT, WE NEED TO FIND A BETTER WAY. SO I THINK WORKING WITH OUR MANAGING DIRECTOR, WITH THE COMMS POSITIONS AND MAYBE FINDING A WAY TO COME UP WITH A BETTER PROCESS, I THINK HAVING THAT SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT IS THE KEY. THAT PERSON WHO PART OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE, WHAT DEPARTMENT THAT PERSON LIVES IN. YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S UP FOR DISCUSSION, WHETHER IT LIVES IN OUR DEPARTMENT OR WHETHER IT LIVES IN A DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT. BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK HAVING THAT SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT IS IMPORTANT. THIS IS PAINFUL TO WATCH. POOR JERRY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS. I'LL TELL YOU, THE REALITY IS WE ARE JUST ABOUT READY TO FULLY STAFF OUR COMMUNICATIONS OPERATION ALL SUMMER. WE HAVEN'T HAD, I MEAN, SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, WE REALLY HAVEN'T HAD A COMMUNICATIONS OPERATION OR, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A PERSON OUT. WE DIDN'T BACKFILL THE OTHER POSITION. REALLY. THIS IS A RESPONSIBILITY I THINK LIVES IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. AND WHAT I INTEND TO DO IS FOR FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS, WE WOULD EMPOWER A PERSON OR A SMALL TEAM OF PEOPLE IN EACH DEPARTMENT WHO WOULD CHECK IN TO ONE CENTRAL PERSON IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. AND THAT'S HOW I THINK THAT WE WOULD KEEP NOT JUST THE WEBSITE, BUT ALL COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATED AND ACTIVE. THAT'S HOW I'VE DONE IT. OTHER PLACES, YOU KNOW. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S THE BULK OF IT. WE HAD A GREAT COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BUT NOW SHE'S WITH YOU. SO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE BACKFILLING AND AND WE'LL MAKE THIS A PRIORITY. YOU'RE NOT GETTING HER BACK. AND WE HAVEN'T. I MEAN, WE HAVE ANOTHER GREAT ONE. SHE'S BUT SHE'S BEEN OUT. SHE'S SHE COMES BACK IN A WEEK AND THAT'S A KEY. THANKS. MR. CAIN BUT I MEAN, I THINK BUILDING REDUNDANCY IN I MEAN, IS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, FOLKS GO ON VACATION, THEY GO ON FML, THEY, YOU KNOW, THINGS HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, FOLKS MOVE ON. AND I, WE JUST I THINK WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT WE SAW HAPPEN WAS THAT MAYBE THERE WAS ONE PERSON. AND THEN WHEN THAT ONE PERSON WASN'T HERE, THE WEBSITE JUST STOPPED GETTING UPDATED. AND LIKE WE NEED TO HAVE. SO I WOULD, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO, TO BUILD IN SOME REDUNDANCY. AND I KNOW YOU WILL BECAUSE IT'S JUST HOW WE OPERATE, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT THINGS CONTINUE. SO THANKS. I MEAN, WE'LL BE WE'LL BE FULLY STAFFED. WE HAVE PEOPLE STARTING ON THE 14TH OR, OR COMMUNICATIONS PERSON COMES BACK ON THE EIGHTH, AND THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER HIRE ON THE 14TH, AND THEN WE HAVE THE MAYOR'S OFFICE WILL BE FULLY STAFFED. AND IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, JERRY'S RESPONSIBILITY IS THE WEBSITE. NOT REALLY THE NOT NOT SO MUCH THE DATA. WE WILL HANDLE THAT. WE WILL WE WILL HAVE APPROPRIATE CONTACTS IN THE DEPARTMENTS. AND COUNCILPERSON GERLACH, YOU JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS. SO I MEAN, I WENT ON THE WEBSITE ON MY PHONE AND JUST MAKING SURE I USE WIX. SO I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE OTHER SYSTEMS, BUT ON WIX THERE IS, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN LOOK AT WHEN YOU'RE DESIGNING YOUR WEBSITE, YOU CAN LOOK AT HOW IT LOOKS ON THE PHONE VERSUS HOW IT LOOKS ON DESKTOP. DEFINITELY SOMEONE SHOULD CHECK OUT HOW IT LOOKS ON THE PHONE. JUST, I THINK OPTIMIZING IT FOR THE PHONE, RIGHT? THAT'S THE WAY THEY SAY THAT BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S A GOOD POINT. THE CURRENT, THIS CURRENT WEBSITE DOES A MUCH BETTER JOB ON MOBILE THAN THE ORIGINAL WEBSITE BACK IN 2022. THAT ONE WAS NOT MOBILE FRIENDLY AT ALL. AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THE REDESIGN IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN [00:35:01] A MOBILE AGE TODAY. SO AND THEN THE OTHER THING IS WE AS A CITY GOVERNMENT EXIST WITHIN AN ECOSYSTEM. AND I SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE THERE WAS THAT REFERENCE TO LIKE HIGHER OFFICES, IT WOULD BE COOL THAT IF SOMEONE GOES TO THE CITY'S WEBSITE AND THEY SEE ON A THURSDAY NIGHT THAT THERE IS A PLANNING COMMISSION, A LEHIGH VALLEY, I'M JUST MAKING UP NIGHTS HERE, THAT THERE'S A LEHIGH VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, AND THAT DARIEN COLBERT IS RUNNING HIS THING IN THE FIRST WARD. AND THEY COULD, LIKE, SEE EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CITY, NOT JUST CITY HALL. I SEE THAT THERE'S EVENTS, YOU KNOW, LIKE BOMBA AND STUFF LIKE THAT. BUT THERE'S OTHER MORE CIVIC LEANING INITIATIVES THAT ARE HAPPENING THAT LIKE RIGHT NOW, TODAY IN ALLENTOWN, I KNOW THERE'S A GROUP SOMEWHERE IN ALLENTOWN MEETING TODAY TALKING ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITY. THERE'S GOT TO BE. AND JUST VISUALLY THOSE WEBSITES WHERE THEY HAVE, I DON'T LIKE THE KIND OF THEY'LL HAVE AN IMAGE AND THEN IT WILL FLIP TO ANOTHER IMAGE AND LIKE, IT'S A SCROLLING KIND OF THING. I MEAN, WE'VE GOT OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO GET HELP WITH LIKE LEAD ABATEMENT AND LIKE THAT KIND OF STUFF SHOULD BE UP TOP. LIKE A MONEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO LIKE SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM TO FIND OUT THAT YOU CAN GET A TREE PLANTED IN FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE. SO THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. AND I THINK JUST TO JUMP OFF THAT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT, AND I DIDN'T, I THINK I BROUGHT UP TO MAYOR TURK, WAS AGGREGATING OR BASICALLY SCRAPING THAT DATA OFF OF COMMUNITY SITES, ESTABLISHING AN MOU WITH THEM SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BECAUSE IF THE DANGER IN THAT IS IF THEY PUT SOMETHING UP THAT'S NOT GOOD, IT ENDS UP ON THE CITY WEBSITE. SO THERE'S RISK TO THAT. BUT, BUT I THINK IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM THAT WE CAN MAKE IT EASIER SO THAT PEOPLE KIND OF HAVE THAT TOWN HALL OR NOT TOWN HALL, THAT TOWN SQUARE IDEA THAT GIVES PEOPLE THAT I WHEN PEOPLE ARE SAYING, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON TO COUNCILPERSON GERLACH'S COMMENT, IT'S THERE. I MEAN, EVEN IF IT'S A SEPARATE LOCATION, IT'S JUST LIKE COMMUNITY EVENTS. LIKE THAT'S, IT'S, IT'S SUPER HELPFUL TO GET VISIBILITY. I KNOW THERE'S AN EMPHASIS TO UTILIZE ALL THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE BUSY. THEY MIGHT NOT SUBSCRIBE TO THE RIGHT THING. THEY MIGHT NOT EVEN KNOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO SOME OF THESE THINGS. AND I THINK THAT'S SORT OF THING. SO DID YOU HAVE A SORRY. ALL GOOD. NO, ALL ALL IN THE SAME EFFORT. I GUESS I'LL HARP ON MY ONE POINT SPECIFICALLY. I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT API'S. I THINK STANDARDIZATION IS IMPORTANT NOT JUST FOR PROCESSES AND PEOPLE, BUT EVEN WHERE THINGS ARE STORED. I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT. GRANICUS API, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S MORE SO CITY HALL, MORE OF THE OFFICIAL BODIES AS OPPOSED TO MORE INFORMAL BODIES. AND I'D BE CURIOUS IF THERE'S WAYS WE CAN LEVERAGE, YOU KNOW, AUTOMATION THROUGH LIKE, HEY, IF WE CREATE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WHERE SOMETHING GETS SENT AN INVITE, IT GETS PUT ONTO A SPECIFIC MICROSOFT CALENDAR, WHICH THEN THAT HAS AN API THAT CAN GO THERE. AND THAT'S WHERE EVERYTHING IS STORED IN SOME WAY. SO IT'S LIKE LESS PEOPLE HAVE TO BE IN WITHIN THE WEBSITE'S INFRASTRUCTURE, BECAUSE I THINK THE MORE THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO BE INVOLVED, THE QUICKER IT IS FOR THINGS TO GET MESSY. AND, YOU KNOW, AND TO THAT POINT, I'M JUST CURIOUS, AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, IT SOUNDED LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHEN, YOU KNOW, BACK WHEN GENESIS WAS IN THE COMMUNICATIONS ROLE, IT WAS MORE SO SHE WAS GETTING IN AND DOING THE, SOME OF THE EDITING. AND I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTAL ROLES, DO THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE INFRASTRUCTURE OR IS IT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THAT STANDARD PROCESS THEY DO? I KNOW PEOPLE LIKE RECYCLING AND PARKS ARE TWO OF THE PRIME USERS OF OUR WEBSITE. THEY DO A GOOD JOB OF KEEPING THEIR DATA, YOU KNOW, UPDATED. I THINK WHERE WE FAIL, AND THIS GOES BACK TO HAVING THAT CENTRAL POINT OF CONTACT, IS THAT THEY'RE BUSY TAKING CARE OF THEIR INFORMATION AND THEY'RE NOT LOOKING AT ANYBODY ELSE'S. AND THEN THAT CENTRAL PERSON WILL TAKE THEIRS AND THEIRS AND THEIRS AND SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE'RE GOING TO PUT THIS ALL TOGETHER IN ONE LITTLE PACKAGE AND LET THE RESIDENTS KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE CAN DO A MUCH BETTER JOB. AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO WORK TOWARD THAT. YOU KNOW, I'LL BE IN, YOU KNOW, IN CONTACT WITH THE MANAGING DIRECTOR AND WE'LL WORK TOWARD THOSE ENDS TO MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR THE RESIDENTS, PEOPLE VISITING OUR SITE. THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT. I'LL TELL YOU, WHEN WE HAVE A FULLY IN ANOTHER FEW WEEKS, WHEN WE HAVE A FULLY STAFFED COMMUNICATIONS OPERATION, WHAT WHAT MY HOPE IS, IS THAT WE'LL HAVE A PERSON IN EACH DEPARTMENT OR PEOPLE WHO, WHO HAVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR NOT FOR ALL COMMUNICATIONS, BUT BUT FOR THE WEBSITE FOR UPDATING. AND I MEAN, IT HAS TO BE A PRIORITY FOR THOSE, THOSE PEOPLE. AND YOU HAVE TO REMIND THEM REGULARLY THAT REGULARLY THAT IT'S A PRIORITY OR IT ISN'T. IN OTHER PLACES WHERE I'VE BEEN, I'VE SEEN THE SAME THING WHERE, WHERE THE WEBSITE FALLS OFF. IT'S NOT EVERYONE'S PRIORITY TO SOME DEGREE. AND THEN THEY CHECK IN WITH A WITH A CENTRAL [00:40:01] TEAM IN THE IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. AND I MEAN, IT SHOULD BE DOABLE. I EXPECT THAT WE WON'T HAVE THIS CONVERSATION AGAIN IN, IN A MONTH OR TWO MONTHS. YOU KNOW, YOU COULD SCHEDULE THE NEXT MEETING. WE ALREADY KNOW. WE'LL CHECK UP ON YOUR UPDATE. THANK YOU. WE'LL WE'LL HAVE WE'LL HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE JOSH SIEGEL AS THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE IN ANOTHER. GIVE ME GIVE ME A DAY. WE'LL MOVE HIS WAY DOWN. WE'LL HAVE A BUDGET MEETING WITHIN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS. BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE WEBSITE. OKAY. AND I THINK TO TO COUNCILPERSON PONGO'S POINT, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO A LOT OF THIS STUFF IS ON OUTLOOK CALENDARS OR SHAREPOINT CALENDARS THAT COULD BE SKIMMED EASILY. AND THEN PARKS AND REC DOESN'T HAVE TO MANUALLY DO STUFF BECAUSE THEY ALREADY HAVE A CALENDAR. SO I THINK A LOT OF THESE LEVERAGING THESE THINGS IS REALLY WHAT AND I KNOW THIS IS NOT ALL WITHIN YOUR, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE ROLES AREN'T WITHIN YOUR PURVIEW. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT. BUT I THINK HOW WE DO THAT IS, IS MAKES EVERYONE'S LIFE EASIER AND MAKES THE SITE MORE ACCESSIBLE AND MAKES EVERYONE HAVE A BETTER USER EXPERIENCE. SO DO YOU HAVE DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I HAVE KIND OF AN OFF TOPIC QUESTION. DOES THE IT DEPARTMENT HAVE AN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM AT ALL? WE HAVE USED INTERNS IN THE PAST, AND WE'VE ACTUALLY HIRED SOME OF OUR INTERNS THAT WE USE. YEAH, I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY THIS. THIS SEEMS LIKE SOMETHING THAT MAYBE THEY WOULD, YOU KNOW, COULD BE TASKED WITH IF IT'S SOMETHING BECAUSE I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY BUSY WITH OTHER TECHIE STUFF THAT THEY COULD, THEY COULD MAYBE BE THAT, THAT PERSON THAT COMBS THROUGH THE OLD DATA AND BE LIKE, HEY, WE NEED THIS. WE ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT THIS VERY THING EARLIER TODAY WITH A COUPLE PEOPLE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT INTERNS, AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT EVEN COLLEGE STUDENTS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, STUDYING WITHIN THE FIELD THAT, YOU KNOW, HAVE SOME TIME AND CAPACITY TO, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE HELP TO US. YOU KNOW, SO WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THAT VERY SAME THING EARLIER TODAY. LOVE THAT. THANK YOU. AND THEN I THINK AS WE'RE KIND OF CLOSING OUT WITH TIME HERE, THIS SELF-SERVICE PORTAL, WHICH I KNOW PIVOTS TO INTER GOV, OBVIOUSLY KIND OF KIND OF THEMED THE SAME, BUT FROM THE RESIDENTS PERSPECTIVE, IF I WANT TO APPLY FOR A PERMIT IN A PARK TO HAVE AN EVENT OR I WANT TO BUILD SOMETHING, I KNOW THERE'S AN APPLY SECTION, BUT LIKE IT. SO RIGHT NOW YOU COULDN'T DO THAT ON ON HERE. OKAY, SO THE, THE CSS PORTAL IS FOR INTER GOV ONLY. AND RIGHT NOW THEY'RE NOT RENTING PAVILIONS OR ANYTHING THROUGH ENTER GOV. OKAY, SO THEY HAVE THEIR OWN PROGRAM THAT THEY'RE DOING THAT THROUGH. IS THERE A PLAN TO CONSOLIDATE? SO WE STARTED AND WE HAVE CONFIGURED ALL OF THE NECESSARY ITEMS FOR THE PARKS DEPARTMENT TO DO THAT WITHIN THE THE UNDERCOVER ENVIRONMENT. BUT RIGHT NOW, I DON'T BELIEVE IT'S ACTIVE AT THIS POINT. OKAY. YEAH. BECAUSE I THINK FOR THE GENERAL RESIDENT, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS REMOVE BARRIERS, MAKE IT VERY, VERY CLEAR. AND EVEN IF THAT MEANS THAT MAYBE YOU'RE NOT PRESENTED WITH THE SITE RIGHT AWAY, BUT YOU'RE PRESENTED WITH A, HEY, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO ON THE PAGE? LIKE WHAT DO YOU, WHAT ARE YOU INTERESTED IN DOING THAT POINTS YOU TO THE LINK TO THAT? I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE TO LOG IN, BUT LIKE IT AS, AND MAYBE FROM AN INTERN PERSPECTIVE, IF YOU JUST HAVE SOMEONE AND SAY LIKE YOU IN A BOOK OR PAVILION, WHAT DO YOU DO? AND HAVE THEM WALK THROUGH IT SO THAT YOU HAVE FRESH EYES THAT ARE LIKE, YOU KNOW, SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A MORE OF A, YOU KNOW, A BOT CAPABILITY WHERE IT CAN ACTUALLY CORRESPOND WITH WHOEVER'S ON THE SITE TO SAY, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO? WELL, I'D LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT RECYCLING, YOU KNOW, WHEN CAN I PUT OUT MY MATTRESS FOR RECYCLING? YEAH. I MEAN, THAT WOULD BE THAT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE. I'M JUST SAYING, EVEN STARTING AT THE POINT OF LIKE, OKAY, YEAH, USING MORE AI TECHNOLOGY TO INTERACT WITH THE RESIDENTS, I THINK, AND GIVE THEM, POINT THEM IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, NOT GIVE THEM ANSWERS, BUT POINT THEM IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. OKAY. AND THEN THE LAST THING I HAD REAL QUICK WAS, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING ELSE SET UP? I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY SOMETHING. I JUST I JUST WANT TO MENTION, YOU KNOW, COUNCILPERSON SANTOS HAD A GREAT POINT ABOUT INTERNS AND ONE OF THE OUTGROWTHS OF THE MEETING THAT WE HAD WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT HERE. WHEN WE DID OUR JOINT MEETING, WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT INTERNSHIPS, AND WE'VE GONE TO THE WE'VE I'VE BEEN BACK TO THE DISTRICT SEVERAL, SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THEN, AND WE HAVE, I THINK, TWO INTERNS RIGHT NOW IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE THAT WE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE A PROGRAM, AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO YEAH. AND I GUESS THE LAST THING. SO COUNCIL APPROVED AND WE WORKED TOWARDS CHANGING OUT THE THE MEETING SYSTEM HERE WE HAVE NEW CAMERAS, YOU KNOW, THAT MAKES IT A LITTLE BIT MUCH, MUCH GREATER. LOOK FOR THE RESIDENTS. THEY CAN INTERFACE WITH THE SYSTEM. HOWEVER, IN LOOKING AT PAST VIDEO, A LOT OF STUFF BROKEN, A LOT OF STUFF'S, MAYBE THE MEETINGS AREN'T SYNCED. THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME DISCONNECT BETWEEN SWAGAT AND GRANICUS AND WHO'S TALKING TO ONE ANOTHER AND HOW THEY'RE WORKING. ALL I'M BRINGING UP IS IF THERE'S A. DO YOU WANT TO COMMENT ON THAT BEFORE I. WELL, [00:45:05] I DO, SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT. WE'VE IDENTIFIED ALL THOSE ISSUES. WE'VE HAD, I THINK, THREE MEETINGS ALREADY THIS WEEK WITH THE MEMBERS OF SWAGAT AND GRANICUS PRESENT TO TALK ABOUT THE STRUGGLES THAT WE'RE HAVING, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THREE MONTHS AGO, IT SEEMED LIKE A VERY SEAMLESS TRANSITION, AND IT HASN'T BEEN AS SEAMLESS AS THAT. BUT WE ARE WORKING ON IT. WE IDENTIFIED THAT WE, WE, I PERSONALLY HAVE MENTIONED TO THEM MORE THAN ONCE, THIS SHOULD BE A HIGH PRIORITY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE WE WERE TOLD X AND WE DON'T HAVE THAT. AND WE NEED TO GET THERE AS SOON AS WE CAN. YEAH. SO, YOU KNOW, SYNCHRONIZATION OF VIDEOS, THINGS LIKE THAT. YEAH. THERE ARE SOME STRUGGLES THERE YET. AND I THINK TO, TO THAT POINT. SO WHEN AS I SAT IN THE MEETING, WHEN THAT WHEN WHEN IT WAS PRESENTED AND I GUESS I WAS, EVERYONE WAS VERY EAGER FROM, FROM GRANICUS TO SAY, THIS IS, THIS IS GREAT. WE'RE ALL IN THE MEETING AND IT SEEMS LIKE WE'VE, WE'VE GONE TO THE, I DON'T SAY THE CRICKET PHASE, BUT THIS DO DO WE HAVE CONTRACTUALLY. CAN WE. IF THIS ISN'T WORKING FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, IS THERE. IS THERE A METRIC OR SOMETHING. OH, I CAN EXPLOIT. WE INTRODUCED THAT TO THEM THAT, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY WE NEED THIS FIXED NOW SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO FIND ANOTHER VENDOR BECAUSE YOU JUST CAN'T DELIVER ON WHAT YOU PROMISED US. SO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM IN THE BACKGROUND, EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE NOT HEARING ABOUT IT EVERY DAY. WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM TO TRY AND GET THROUGH ALL OF THESE STRUGGLES. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT INFORMATION. DOES ANYONE ON THE DAIS HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT. WITH THAT, DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER THINGS YOU WANTED TO ADD BEFORE I ADJOURN? NOT THAT I KNOW. I'M SURE WE'LL HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITY. SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.